This is the crime that the Malaysian government has been committing when it launched an all-out attack to end the stand off in Lahud Datu in Sabah, claims an expert.

Related story: Malaysia rejects Borneo ceasefire, demands surrender
Constitutional expert Marwil Llasos said Philippines should hold Malaysia liable for the death of Tausugs, a small ethnic group from Mindanao, in their attempt to drive away Kiramâ€™s followers from Sabah.

Llasos, also an expert on international law, issued the statement as he expressed disappointment with the way the Philippine government is handling the fluid situation in Lahud Datu.

â€œIf Malaysian authorities are attacking a particular tribe or a particular group like the Tausug and they do it indiscriminately, affecting those who are not part of the alleged outlaws from the members of the Royal Army of the Sultanate of Sulu, that is an international crime,â€ Llasos said

please curious
Malaysian security forces attend the all-out attack in Sabah of North Borneo in Malaysia, March 19, 2013. Senior Malaysian security officials on Monday expressed confidence to end the deadly standoff in Sabah. Some 200 of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III's followers landed in Sabah last month to stake a territorial claim on the land. Ten security forces and more than 60 gunmen were killed during the month-long standoff. Malaysian security forces launched an all-out attack on March 5 after negotiations broke down

please curious
Malaysian security forces attend the all-out attack in Sabah of North Borneo in Malaysia, March 19, 2013. Senior Malaysian security officials on Monday expressed confidence to end the deadly standoff in Sabah. Some 200 of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III's followers landed in Sabah last month to stake a territorial claim on the land. Ten security forces and more than 60 gunmen were killed during the month-long standoff. Malaysian security forces launched an all-out attack on March 5 after negotiations broke down

It is not clear from the news story if Tausugs casualties were collateral damage.

â€œThe cue came from no less than the president when he called those people (Tausug) as outlaws. So if they are outlaws, the Malaysian authorities will consider them as criminals and will shoot them on site,â€ he explained.

Malaysian security forces have detected the modus operandi of the remaining Sulu gunmen in Lahad Datu.

Armed Forces Chief Tan Sri Zulkifeli Zin said the gunmen would operate in groups of two or three to lure security forces into an area and start a gunfight.

They would then retreat into a house.

"(From there) One of them would run to another nearby house and set it on fire to distract our attention so that the others could attack from behind.

"After setting the house on fire, the gunman would escape by running to some bushes bush or swamp and attack from there," Zulkifeli told the Ops Daulat media briefing at Felda Sahabat 16 here on Sunday.

He said knowing the gunmen's tactic enabled the security forces to track them down with more caution.

In a gunfight early Sunday, four people, including two children, were shot dead as the gunmen opened fire at security forces from indside a house in Tanjung Batu.